The bumblebee is currently found in New Zealand, after being taken there by British settlers a century ago, and will be brought back in a bid to re-establish the species the UK - where it was last seen in 1988.

In Scotland, the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage are paving the way for the reintroduction of the threatened pine hoverfly to the wildlife charity's reserve in Abernethy in 2011.

Butterfly Conservation is also working with the RSPB in Scotland to establish a captive breeding programme for dark bordered beauty moths, a species that currently has just three UK colonies, which will be released at a Scottish RSPB reserve if the breeding scheme is a success.

RSPB biodiversity projects officer, Jane Sears, said: "We have a lot of experience of reintroducing threatened birds to the UK, but this is very different.

"Releasing invertebrates brings all kinds of new challenges as they can be very sensitive to even the slightest changes in habitat.

"We will need to keep a close eye on how they are faring and make sure we continue to provide the right conditions for them."